“No problem.”
“Seriously, though, Reigh, don’t leave on account of this nigga. He’s on some drunk shit,” Davion remarked.
“It’s all good.”
“A’ight,” he replied.
I dapped the rest of them niggas up, and Cortez couldn’t resist one last jab.
“You running, nigga? All hype!” he shouted as I walked away.
I turned back around and ran up on him so fast that he fell backward in his chair. I placed my foot on his chest, leaned down, and replied, “Nigga, if I put these hands on you, I will kill you. No doubt about it, boy. Watch who the fuck you talking to, and respect me when I step on the scene.”
As a professional fighter, one of the hardest lessons I had to learn was not to beat a nigga’s ass, even when they deserved it. It wasn’t worth everything I would lose if I engaged in petty shit.
I walked up to Dove. She stood near the makeshift bar, sipping a glass of water. Sweat poured down the sides of her face.
“You good, girl?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. Are you though?”
“I’m getting up out of here.”
“Okay, well, let me tell my girls bye.”
“You ain’t gotta roll out yet, babe. I can come back and get you when you’re ready. The walk isn’t that far.”
“No, Reigh. I’m tired and ready to relax.”
We had been at the party for four hours, so I could understand where she was coming from. I watched as she said her goodbyes before she joined me again. We intertwined our fingers and slowly strolled down the beach back to our cottage.
“Thank you for tonight.”
“Whacha mean?” I asked.
“Getting me out of the house. I needed to get my mind off some things.”
I wrapped my arm around her. “Like what?”
“You’re leaving in three days, and it will be a while before I see you again.”
It had been three weeks since I arrived on Sorrel Island, and I needed to get back to formal training. I had worked out everyday that I had been here and done some training, but it was nothing compared to the more rigorous training that I would get at camp with my coaches, trainers, and sparring partners.
“We’ll be okay. You’ll get tired of me being under you all the time pretty soon.”
“You have what, two fights per year?”
“Yeah, and usually eight weeks in training camps.”
“Mm. I don’t like the idea of anyone beating on you, Reigh. I mean, I know that’s your career and you’re good at it, but you deserve better than that.”
I stopped in the doorway and tilted her chin so that she could look up at me. “I do have better, now that you’re in my life.”
She smiled sweetly at me, and I brushed my lips against hers in several sweet pecks. She pressed her tongue against the seam of my lips, and I opened up. Although she initiated the kiss, I controlled it.
She yawned and stretched sleepily when I pulled back from the kiss. “It has been a long day,” I pronounced.
“Yeah. All I want is a bath and to get out this swimwear. It’s full of sand.”
